Human resource director responds to allegations
BROOKSVILLE –
UPDATE: The county’s Human Resources secretary who alleged she was assaulted at her desk by her boss, Cheryl Marsden, was fired after an investigation showed her allegations were unsubstantiated. Marsden was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Cheryl Marsden on Tuesday denied striking her secretary on the arm last week and said she expects to be cleared of any wrongdoing. In her first statement since the incident broke in Hernando Today over the weekend, Marsden, director of administrative services, said she obtained a copy of a Brooksville Police Department complaint.
Human Resources secretary Josephine “Jo-Jo” DiViccaro said in the complaint that she was at her desk last Friday looking at a newspaper article when “out of nowhere, her boss appeared and struck her on the right arm.”
Marsden said it never happened.
“I have reviewed the incident report filed by the Brooksville Police Department,” Marsden said. “These allegations are false. An investigation is being conducted, and I am confident that I will be cleared of any wrongdoing.”
Even though DiViccaro asked Brooksville police not to investigate the alleged incident, the matter had already reached the attention of County Administrator David Hamilton, who confirmed his office is conducting its own probe.
Until that investigation is complete, there will be no further statements from himself or staff involved in the alleged incident, he said.
DiViccaro, who works as a secretary in the Human Resources Office, filed a complaint Saturday afternoon with the Brooksville Police Department alleging her boss, Cheryl Marsden, struck her on the arm.
She asked that the police department not investigate the alleged assault and that she only filed the complaint so it would be documented.
DiViccaro said Monday her attorney has advised her not to talk to the press about the incident.
Here is what DiViccaro, 58, is alleging in the report:
At around 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 4, she was at her desk on the second floor of the government complex looking at a newspaper article when “out of nowhere, her boss appeared and struck her on the right arm.
Marsden then asked DiViccaro what she was doing and she told her boss she was working and glanced at the article, the report said.
DiViccaro said Marsden told her she knew about the article and turned and walked away “like nothing happened,” the report said.
That day, DiViccaro said she spoke to several co-workers, including the next in the chain of command, about the incident.
“Nothing got resolved so I decided to take action on my own because I was violated,” DiViccaro said.
Marsden was recently promoted to director of administrative services and her duties expanded to more than just the Human Resources Department.
She is one of six department managers on Hamilton’s leadership team, which he formed as part of a streamlining measure.
In her most recent performance evaluation, dated April 9, 2010, DiViccaro scored mostly high marks by Marsden.
Marsden said DiViccaro has improved on her punctuality. She suggested that DiViccaro have someone cover her desk when she is away for more than a few minutes.
Marsden said DiViccaro’s accomplishment this past year “has been her ability to adapt to all of the changes of combining our departments, HR, administration and – most recently – budget and her willingness to take on additional duties and volume of calls and walk-ins.”
DiViccaro, employed with Hernando County since April 2001, makes $25,584.
Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or [email protected].
